Music Ensembles

Ensembles at Hamline

• A cappella choir

  Hamline's a cappella choir has toured nationally and internationally and performed on recordings, radio, and television. Our singers have premiered works of several renowned composers and received acclaim for their dynamic interpretations of choral masterworks. The choir tours America every two years and tours abroad every four years. Our choir has received accolades from critics around the world wherever we travel.

  The a cappella choir's musical repertoire reflects the diversity of its singers, as the choir pulls music from a variety of language and cultural traditions. We encourage choir members to share what they are learning in their language and music classes with their fellow singers to expand everyone's learning horizons. Your skills will be utilized as you learn new music and as each member develops as a musician.

  Students hoping to join Hamline's a cappella choir audition in a process hosted at the beginning of the fall and spring semesters.

  Director: George Chu

• Chamber music and small ensembles

  Ensembles of three to seven musicians meet weekly in independent rehearsals and supervised coaching sessions with music faculty. The program includes classical, jazz, contemporary, ethnic, and folk ensembles.

  In this course, you'll be assigned into small groups of two to six musicians based on your instrument or voice, interests, and the genre or style of music you're interested in. This includes same-family or mixed instrumental groups, vocal ensembles, acoustic-contemporary groups, and ethnic bands. Recent ensembles include our jazz combo, cello choir, string trio, string quartet, piano trio, flute quartet, and woodwind quintet. Your two hours of practice per week, scheduled collaboratively, are divided between student-run rehearsals and faculty-directed coaching sessions.

  You'll learn repertoire and effective rehearsal techniques, improve your performance and expressive ability, and develop problem-solving, leadership, teamwork, and interpersonal communication skills.

• Wind ensemble

  Hamline University Wind Ensemble, the University’s concert band, consists of 30-40 woodwind, brass, and percussion players who are both music majors and non-majors. Hamline Winds performs two or three concerts each semester in Sundin Music Hall. 

  As a member of the Hamline Winds, you'll improve your technical and musical skills, develop strong leadership and teamwork capabilities, greatly expand your knowledge of the repertoire, and deepen your love of music.

  The band performs in numerous settings around campus and in the community, supports a pep band during fall football season, and participates in chamber ensembles including flute choir, clarinet choir, sax quartet, brass quintet and percussion ensemble. Chamber ensembles may be invited to perform on student recitals, the Honors Day Recital, in neighborhood venues and in special university-wide events.

  New students must play a seating audition for the director at the beginning of the semester.

  Director: Janet Greene

• Orchestra

  Hamline Orchestra is a 40-member ensemble with full string sections, pairs of woodwinds, and partial brass and percussion sections. The repertoire includes symphonies, concertos, suites, and other symphonic works from Baroque to 20th century composers like Bach, Vivaldi, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, and Brahms.

  Hamline Orchestra performs two fall concerts and one spring concert. Members of the cello section have also formed the Hamline Cello Ensemble, which performs in other concerts both on and off campus. Seats are open to music majors and non-majors alike.

  Students who wish to join must audition at the start of the semester in order to be properly placed within the ensemble.

  Director: Yali You

• University chorale

  The chorale sings a wide variety of classical, popular, and world music and presents several concerts each year. The chorale performs three times each year on campus and occasionally partners with other choirs in off-campus performances such as WomanVoice, a choral festival celebrating women's choirs and women composers, and Vanessa Voskuil's The Student. The group has performed at the state convention of the American Choral Directors of Minnesota and has often been recognized for its excellence at the state level.

  The chorale was founded in the early 1940s, when many college-age men were serving in World War II. Women's chorale was created around a general belief in the power of women to create beautiful music, and it flourished even after the men returned to campus.

  The University chorale performs numerous compositions by living composers, including several pieces written for the group by its own student members. Members of the choir are urged to bring their growing knowledge with them to every rehearsal.

  The University Chorale is open to all students who love to sing and welcomes new members every semester, no auditions required.